Centene (NYSE:CNC) Stock Price Up 3.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) were up 3.5% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $60.66 and last traded at $61.00. Approximately 461,834 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 4,455,309 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.94.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on CNC shares. Argus cut Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Centene from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.92.

Centene Trading Down 0.5 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.11. The stock has a market cap of $29.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.40. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.86.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.31. Centene had a net margin of 2.03% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $40.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.45 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 41.5% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 86,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,518,000 after buying an additional 25,412 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 3rd quarter valued at about $761,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 283.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 3,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,000 after purchasing an additional 2,274 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in Centene by 75.3% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd increased its position in Centene by 820.9% during the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 37,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,787,000 after buying an additional 33,000 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Centene

Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children’s health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.